Manama, June 19(BNA): His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, President of Bahrain Olympic Committee, at the Majlis of His Highness, received His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Honourary President of the Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation (BMMAF), on the occasion of the achievement of the team’s new and unprecedented achievement of a gold medal and three bronze medals, at the Asian Open Championship for Amateur Mixed Martial Arts.
The championship was organized by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF), and held in Republic of Singapore, June 12-16.
The meeting was attended by Khalid Abdulaziz Al Khayyat, Bahrain Olympic Committee Board Member, BMMAF President, Mr. Waleed Sayar, Secretary-General of BMMAF, Fawaz Shamsan, member of the BMMAF, Mohamed Shahid, President of Khalid bin Hamad Mixed Martial Arts Organisation (KHK MMA) and several members and fighters of the Khalid bin Hamad team for amateurs and professionals.
HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa congratulated the national team on the occasion of accomplishing this achievement in the first edition of the Asian Open Championships for Amateur MMA, expressing his pride and gratitude at the outstanding result, as the participation in the global event included more than 62 fighters from 15 countries. The results reflected on the developed level of the Kingdom of Bahrain thanks to the wise Bahraini sports leadership which led to many achievements in record time.
His Highness stressed that he will continue to develop this sport to accomplish more achievements in upcoming championships, especially at the level of amateur world championships to be hosted by Bahrain in November.
His Highness praised the efforts of HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa in supporting this sport, which has established a solid foundation, giving the youth the perfect environment to practice the sport and strengthened its culture within the Bahraini sports culture, and contributed to achieving distinguished results.
His Highness appreciated the efforts exerted by the BMMAF under the leadership of Colonel Khalid Abdulaziz Al Khayyat and all members in implementing the strategy set by His Highness Shaikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al Khalifa to support the continued development, enhancement and promotion of this sport.
For his part, HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad AL Khalifa said: "We appreciate the reception by HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa to the National MMA team for amateurs, who honoured us and raised the flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain the Asian Open championships, which included strong participation from the best international fighters.
The reception of the champions is a clear indication of His Highness' keenness to support the athletes which goes in line with the vision of the wise leadership, to promote Bahraini sports to reach the highest of level and achieve more honourable results."
His Highness added: “This is an unprecedented and well-deserved result. It is a clear demonstration of your determination to honour the Kingdom of Bahrain and raise its flag among the countries participating in these international sports gathering, which is being held for the first time in Asia.
It also reinforces the developed position Bahraini Mixed Martial Arts has reached to, in its level and results, which is thanks to the support from the wise leadership to the youth and sports sector in the Kingdom, and the continuous follow-up by HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa."
His Highness pointed out that the efforts will continue to develop this sport to accomplish more achievements that contribute to enhancing the status of Bahrain's mixed martial arts sport at an international level, pointing out that the team is waiting to participate in fourth edition of the World Championship of Amateur MMA, organized by the Kingdom of Bahrain from November 12-19, which requires serious and strong preparations in order to achieve honourable results.
His Highness Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa congratulated the fighters on this achievement, praising the great levels they had presented during the competitions, and in which they succeeded by taking the crowning podium at this international sports gathering, which for first time, included Bahrain's royal anthem in the 66kg category title after fighter Abdulmanap Megomedov, defeated Russia’s Bekzat Zhassiya in the finals, while Hussain Ayyad, Mohamed Abbas, and Nayef Fikri achieved bronze medals in the 56.2kg, 70kg and 77kg categories.
His Highness praised the role of the BMMAF in creating the necessary conditions to prepare the team for the participation in the Asian Open Championship through which the team achieved this honourable result. At the end of the event the team members took a commemorative photo with HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa and HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.